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Encounter
Original title: Encontre
1988
Mixed media on synthetic foam and wood
Dimensions: 224.7 x 281.5 cm
Reference: ACF0464
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In this work, withered-looking artificial flowers, which sit atop ancient forms that suggest phallic metaphors fully engaged in a game of seduction, convey a sense of the inevitable passage of time. Ornament and decrepitude are opposites that speak to us of the ghosts of our own bodies; and sex, which links us to death and even violence, can be perverse and sensual at the same time. The outlines of these figures in paraffin wax dyed with pigments explode in splashes and smears of oil, and in gestures that release passionate, enigmatic drives and forces. In a constant play of transformation and concealment, in Amat’s work colour becomes an instrument of experimentation linked to Mediterranean art and the popular tradition of the distant countries he discovered on his long journeys. The richness and variety of the textures and the quality of the supports also hide the secrets of a world that is inaccessible to reason. In the crypt we hear powerfully expressive, tense shadows and poems, and evocations open to multiple interpretations take shape.
